---
title: 'Get started with AWS SQS'
sidebarTitle: 'AWS SQS'
description: 'Stream Postgres changes to an SQS queue in minutes. Build real-time data pipelines with SQS and Postgres change data capture (CDC).'
---

import QuickstartInitialSteps from '/snippets/quickstart-initial-steps.mdx';
import QuickstartSourceStep from '/snippets/quickstart-source-step.mdx';
import QuickstartBackfillStep from '/snippets/quickstart-backfill-step.mdx';

In this quickstart, you'll create a real-time data pipeline that streams changes from a Postgres database to an Amazon SQS queue. You'll:

- Boot Sequin
- Connect to a sample playground database
- Configure an SQS queue to receive database changes
- See your changes flow in real-time

By the end, you'll have hands-on experience setting up Postgres change data capture (CDC) with Sequin and SQS.

<Tip>
  This is the quickstart for streaming Postgres to SQS. See the [how-to guide](/how-to/stream-postgres-to-sqs) for an explanation of how to use the SQS sink or the [reference](/reference/sinks/sqs) for details on all configuration options.
</Tip>

## Prerequisites

- An AWS account with an SQS queue
- IAM credentials with SQS access

For this quickstart, you can use an existing IAM user with broad SQS permissions. For production use cases, we recommend creating a dedicated IAM user for Sequin with the following policy:

<Accordion title="Required IAM Policy">
  ```json
  {
    "Version": "2012-10-17",
    "Statement": [
      {
        "Effect": "Allow",
        "Action": [
          "sqs:SendMessage",
          "sqs:SendMessageBatch",
          "sqs:GetQueueAttributes",
          "sqs:GetQueueUrl",
          "sqs:ListQueues",
          "sqs:ListQueueTags",
          "sqs:ChangeMessageVisibility"
        ],
        "Resource": "<your-queue-arn>"
      }
    ]
  }
  ```

Replace `<your-queue-arn>` with your queue's ARN (e.g., `arn:aws:sqs:us-east-1:123456789012:my-queue`).
</Accordion>

<Steps titleSize="h2">
 <QuickstartInitialSteps />
 <Step title="Create an SQS Sink" icon="aws">
  With the playground database connected, you can create a [sink](/reference/sinks/overview). This sink will send changes to the `products` table to your SQS queue:

  <Steps>
    <Step title="Navigate to Sinks">
      Click "Sinks" in the sidebar navigation, then click "Create Sink".
    </Step>

    <Step title="Select sink type">
      Select "Amazon SQS" as the sink type and click "Continue".
    </Step>

    <QuickstartSourceStep />
    <QuickstartBackfillStep />

    <Step title='Configure "SQS Queue"'>
      In the "SQS Configuration" card, enter your queue details:
      - Queue URL: The full URL of your SQS queue (e.g., `https://sqs.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/123456789012/my-queue`)
      - AWS Access Key ID: [An AWS access key](#prerequisites) with SQS permissions
      - AWS Secret Access Key: The corresponding AWS secret key

      <Frame>
        <img style={{ maxWidth: '700px' }} src="/images/quickstart/sqs/sqs-config-card.png" alt="SQS configuration card" />
      </Frame>
    </Step>

    <Step title="Test the connection">
      At the bottom of the form, click the "Test Connection" button. If you provided proper credentials, it should succeed.

      <Check>
        Sequin can connect to your SQS queue.
      </Check>
    </Step>

    <Step title="Create the sink">
      You can leave the rest of the defaults. As configured, the SQS queue will first receive a backfill of all rows currently in the `products` table. Then, it will receive all changes to the `products` table in real-time.

      Click "Create Sink" to finish setting up your SQS sink.
    </Step>
  </Steps>
 </Step>

  <Step title="See changes flow to your SQS queue" icon="waveform-lines">
    On the new sink's overview page, you should see the "Health" status turn green, indicating data is flowing to your SQS queue.

    Let's confirm messages are flowing:

    <Steps>
    <Step title="Messages tab">
      Click the "Messages" tab. You'll see a list of the recently delivered messages:

      <Frame>
        <img style={{ maxWidth: '700px' }} src="/images/quickstart/sqs/messages-tab.png" alt="List of recently delivered messages" />
      </Frame>

      <Check>
        Sequin indicates it backfilled the `products` table to your SQS queue.
      </Check>
    </Step>
      <Step title="View in SQS Console">
        Open the AWS Console and navigate to your SQS queue. Click "Send and receive messages" then "Poll for messages". You should see the messages have arrived from Sequin:

        <Frame>
          <img style={{ maxWidth: '700px' }} src="/images/quickstart/sqs/poll-for-messages.png" alt="SQS Console showing polling for messages" />
        </Frame>

        Click on a message to view its contents. The messages are [`read` events](/reference/messages) from the initial backfill of the `products` table.

        <Check>
          Messages are flowing from Sequin to your SQS queue.
        </Check>
      </Step>

      <Step title="Make some changes">
        Let's make some changes to the `products` table and see them flow to your queue.

        In your terminal, run the following command to insert a new row into the `products` table:

        ```bash
        docker exec -i sequin-sequin_postgres-1 \
          psql -U postgres -d sequin_playground -c \
          "insert into products (name, price) values ('Organic Honey (16 oz)', 12.99);"
        ```

        In the "Poll for messages" widget in the SQS Console, you should see the new message appear.

        Feel free to try other changes:

        <AccordionGroup>
          <Accordion title="Update a product's price">
            ```bash
            docker exec -i sequin-sequin_postgres-1 \
              psql -U postgres -d sequin_playground -c \
              "update products set price = 7.99 where name = 'Avocados (3 pack)';"
            ```
          </Accordion>

          <Accordion title="Change a product's name">
            ```bash
            docker exec -i sequin-sequin_postgres-1 \
              psql -U postgres -d sequin_playground -c \
              "update products set name = 'Organic Avocados (3 pack)' where name = 'Avocados (3 pack)';"
            ```
          </Accordion>

          <Accordion title="Delete a product">
            ```bash
            docker exec -i sequin-sequin_postgres-1 \
              psql -U postgres -d sequin_playground -c \
              "delete from products where name = 'Blueberries (6 oz)';"
            ```
          </Accordion>
        </AccordionGroup>

        Each change will appear in your SQS queue within a few seconds.
      </Step>
    </Steps>
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Check>
  Great work!
</Check>

You've successfully:

- Set up a complete Postgres change data capture pipeline
- Loaded existing data through a backfill
- Made changes to the `products` table
- Verified changes are flowing to your SQS queue

## Ready to stream

Now you're ready to connect your own database to Sequin and start streaming changes:

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Guide: Connect Postgres" icon="elephant" href="/connect-postgres">
    Connect your Postgres database to Sequin.
  </Card>
  <Card title="Guide: Setting up an SQS sink" icon="aws" href="/how-to/stream-postgres-to-sqs">
    Setup an SQS sink to send changes to your queue.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>